The Windows 7 Beta SDK is a great source of documentation and examples for using these new sets of APIs. However, most of the examples are written in native code similar to Windows 7 APIs which are all native C, C++, and COM APIs, which makes the life of managed code developers a bit hard. For that reason, Microsoft created the Windows Vista Bridge project that makes it easier for managed code developers to use Windows OS-specific APIs such as those described above.

The current version of the Window Vista Bridge, version 1.4 contains many useful â€œWindows Vistaâ€ features such asÂ Restart and Recovery, Search, Power Awareness and other Shell integrations. However the current version doesnâ€™t include any Windows 7 features. It will support key Windows 7 APIs in the near future, but until then, we have developed an intermediate set of solutions for supporting managed code developers who wish to target Windows 7 Beta today and not wait for the time the Windows API Code Pack for the .NET Library (the new name of Windows Vista Bridge) will be available.

With that caveat in place, we can go ahead and introduce some new managed code wrappers that will allow managed code developers to use the Windows 7 Taskbar, manipulate Libraries, add Multi-Touch support for WinForms or WPF 3.5 SP1, and enable Sensors and Location in their applications.

Taskbar

The Taskbar Sample .NET Interop Library allows developers to:

Create and manipulate JumpLists including tasks and items

Display Dynamic Overlay Icons, Thumbnail Toolbars

Use the Taskbar progress bar

Control Custom Thumbnail Preview, and custom Preview also known as â€“ AeroPeek

Libraries

Libraries are new in Windows 7 and provide a logical representation of the userâ€™s data onÂ his local computer and on remote computers. With Libraries, the user can define which physical folders are mapped to which library and achieve better search quality and easier â€œmaintenanceâ€ of his content. In Windows 7, it is important for developers to

enable their applications to become Library-aware by supporting Libraries. This will integrate the userâ€™s application and Windows experiences and maintain the integrity of your applications in various scenarios

Contrary to widely circulated rumors, Visual Basic 6.0 will ship and will be supported on Windows 7 for the lifetime of the OS. Microsoft has released an updated support statement detailing the exact nature of ongoing support.

The Visual Basic team is committed to â€œIt Just Worksâ€ compatibility for Visual Basic 6.0 applications on Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7. The Visual Basic teamâ€™s goal is that Visual Basic 6.0 applications that run on Windows XP will also run on Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7.

The Visual Basic team is also committed to the Visual Basic 6.0 development environment running on Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7.

As detailed in the support document, the core Visual Basic 6.0 runtime will be supported for the full lifetime of Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7, which is five years of mainstream support followed by five years of extended support, per the standard support agreement.

The support statement addresses Windows 7 directly:

Since the initial release of this support statement, the Windows 7 operating system has been announced. This document has been updated to clarify Microsoftâ€™s support for VB6 on Windows 7.

VB6 runtime will ship and will be supported in Windows 7 for the lifetime of the OS. Developers can think of the support story for Vista being the same as it is for Windows 7. However there are no plans to include VB6 runtime in future versions of Windows beyond Windows 7.

The Windows SDK for Windows 7 and .NET Framework 3.5 SP1: BETA provides the documentation, samples, header files, libraries, and tools (including C++ compilers) that you need to develop applications to run on Windows 7 BETA and the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1.

To build and run .NET Framework applications, you must have the corresponding version of the .NET Framework installed. This SDK is compatible with Visual StudioÂ® 2008, including Visual Studio Express Editions, which are available free of charge.

Build applications on a solid foundation; enable richer application experiences; and integrate the best of Windows and web services. The features and technologies of the Windows 7 operating system enable you to build the next generation of software applications. Download this guide to read descriptions of those features and see vivid screen shots from the pre-Beta version of Windows 7 released at PDC.